Vermont Report Suggests 30 Stores, ‘Lounges’ if Rec Legalized

Published
November 19, 2015

A Vermont entrepreneur group has released a report offering recommendations on how to structure a recreational marijuana industry in the hopes of influencing lawmakers behind an expected legalization push in the state Capitol next year.

The Vermont Cannabis Collaborative report recommends that the state award up to 30 licenses for retail marijuana stores. It also calls on lawmakers to approve “lounges” where cannabis can be sold and consumed.

On the cultivation side, the report recommends awarding up to four licenses to industrial growers and up to three cooperative licenses. Each of these license-holders would also be able to run retail shops as well.

The report suggests there should be no cap on the number of licenses for a craft grower category, which would allow cultivators to grow between seven and 99 plants. Home cultivators growing no more than six plants would not need a license.

Vermont lawmakers will likely consider legalizing recreational marijuana via the legislature next year, though whether they take any of the group’s suggestions into consideration is not yet known.

The cannabis collaborative developed its suggestions with help from the Colorado law firm Vicente Sederberg and the Marijuana Policy Group.

The middle model projects that rec marijuana sales would generate more than $251 million in annual revenue. That’s under the assumption that marijuana would cost $5,000 per pound and that 50,273 pounds would be consumed annually in the state (population 627,000), including 12.3% by tourists.